Entertainment
10 Thriller Sleeper Hits That Got So Much Better After Season 1
Choosing a series to commit to is an ever-evolving task within the streaming era because of the sheer amount of great content that exists. There are plenty of shows that started out strong before petering out in quality and reaching conclusions that weren’t entirely satisfying. There are also shows that suffered from having massive gaps in between seasons, resulting in momentum that is lost; although the streaming model has become dominant within the industry, it is easy to forget that television used to exist on a more regular schedule where viewers could expect to see a new season of their favorite show every year.
It often takes a show a bit of time to find its groove and determine that tone that is most appropriate for the rest of its run, and they benefited from evolving after their first seasons were concluded. This is especially true for these thriller TV shows, each being a sleeper hit that only got better after its first season.
10
‘Tokyo Vice’ (2022–2024)
Tokyo Vice is based on the acclaimed non-fiction novel by the journalist Jake Adelstein, who is played in the series by Ansel Elgort. It tells the incredible true story of Adelstein’s time as a reporter at the most powerful newspaper in Japan, where he investigated cases related to the yakuza and mafia.
Tokyo Vice has a specific visual style that is reminiscent of the films of Michael Mann, who served as a producer and directed the pilot. Although the first season established a unique atmosphere and explained the specifics of how the Japanese criminal underworld worked, the second season got richer, deeper, and more emotional in examining the degree to which conspiracies had infected all levels of the nation’s institutions and infrastructure. Although the show was sadly cancelled too soon, the second season is among the most underrated television masterpieces of the decade.
9
‘The Leftovers’ (2014–2017)
The Leftovers is a fascinating adaptation because the first season is a very faithful recreation of the novel, which offers a dark and remorseless look at grief in the aftermath of a cataclysm, an inexplicable event in which a percentage of the entire world’s population disappeared. While it was certainly compelling television, The Leftovers was so hopeless that it became a struggle to watch.
The Leftovers actually improved when it moved beyond the source material and allowed showrunner Damon Lindelof to trek into much weirder science fiction territory, introducing a larger cast of characters and asking more existential questions. It is a very unique series because it opened a ton of potential mystery boxes and satisfyingly resolved them all. The series finale, “The Book of Nora,” is not only the best episode of the show, but one of the greatest finales of the 21st century.
8
‘Boardwalk Empire’ (2010–2014)
Boardwalk Empire was HBO’s solution for the end of The Sopranos, as writer Terrence Winter was tasked with making another mafia show, and it was based on real events within the 1920s in which prohibition had turned gangsters into public heroes. Although the first season is quite strong, it does go to painstaking lengths to establish all of the characters and at times becomes too nasty for its own good.
Boardwalk Empire evolved over time when it expanded its cast, adding great historical figures into the mix, such as Stephen Graham’s terrific take on Al Capone. Although Steve Buscemi’s iconic performance as the corrupt City Treasurer Nucky Thompson had been great from the start, the later seasons of the show painted him as a more complex character who does take his responsibilities seriously, despite being affiliated with a cohort in the mob.
7
‘Patriot’ (2015–2018)
Patriot is a very unusual cult show that takes a very different approach to the spy genre than the slick, procedural espionage thrillers that every streamer seems to produce en masse. The series strikes a very unusual tone of being funny and tragic at the same time, and it is admittedly a bit of a challenge to get on its wavelength at the beginning because of how many intentionally subversive choices are being made.
Patriot evolves significantly in its second season because it focuses more on the fractured family dynamic at the heart of the show, with Terry O’Quinn in particular giving one of the greatest performances of his career as an enigmatic spymaster. If Patriot at first felt like it was occasionally at odds with itself, it transformed into an earnest, thoughtful, and painfully truthful series about the lies people tell themselves in order to sleep at night.
6
‘Halt and Catch Fire’ (2014–2017)
Halt and Catch Fire is the single most underrated television show of the 2010s, and should have vaulted to the same degree of success as Mad Men, given that they are both exciting period thrillers about evolving industries that radically reshaped society and culture. Halt and Catch Fire is initially a tough sell because it goes in-depth in exploring the rise of tech startups, and can be somewhat confusing for those who don’t have any background in engineering or business.
Halt and Catch Fire quickly becomes more entertaining because the show offers viewers a blueprint of how to watch it that does not necessitate vast knowledge of technology. It’s not necessary to keep track of all of the processing terms that are being used, as Halt and Catch Fire holds emotional value through the perspectives of its characters and the impact that they have upon the world.
5
‘Damages’ (2007–2012)
Damages is a show that was ahead of its time because it elevated what a legal procedural could be and showed that there was an opportunity for award-winning movie stars to do some of their best work on television. The series examines the complex relationship between the law school graduate Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) and her new employer, the brilliant attorney Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), who becomes both a dark mentor and an antagonist.
Damages gets even better after its first season because Ellen gains more power and becomes closer to an equal to Patty, making it fascinating to see the cat-and-mouse game that they play throughout the legal system in New York City. The show also continued to add compelling guest stars within its later seasons, including a rare dramatic turn from Martin Short playing against type in Season 3.
4
‘Luther’ (2010–2018)
Luther is among the most defining crime thrillers of the 2010s because it offered Idris Elba one of the most iconic roles of his career, as he created an onscreen detective unlike television had ever seen. Even though Elba had first gained praise for his amazing performance as Stringer Bell on The Wire, Luther was proof that he could be the definitive lead of a series.
Luther gets better as it goes along because of the way that it distances itself from other British crime shows with its morbid, ambiguous atmosphere and sadistic villains; it occasionally crosses the line from crime thriller into outright horror with its serial killers. The series also benefited from the continued presence of Ruth Wilson, whose performance as a femme fatale anti-hero was perhaps the only time on the show in which Elba was upstaged.
3
‘Industry’ (2020–Present)
Industry is the most exciting show on HBO right now because it is very impressive how a seemingly small-scale story about young employees at a British investment bank has become a sprawling odyssey that explores the global tech market and corporate conspiracies.
Industry is often compared to Succession because they are set within a highly complex world of finance and power, and both force the audience to reckon with characters who are despicable and at times completely unlikeable. Although this is a hurdle that some viewers might struggle to get past in the first season because of how caustic it can be, Industry is worth sticking with because of how much grander the scope gets and the increasingly dark humor that distinguishes it from other HBO dramas. There’s frankly nothing like it on television, and the stage is set for an exciting final season.
2
‘The Old Man’ (2022–2024)
The Old Man is an old-fashioned spy thriller based on a popular novel that gives Jeff Bridges one of the best roles of his career. Bridges is an all-time great actor who has been doing terrific work ever since his breakout role in The Last Picture Show, but The Old Man is the most engaged he has been in a project since appearing in the remake of True Grit that was directed by the Coen brothers.
The first season of The Old Man was a breath of fresh air within the spy thriller genre, and it only got better from then on out when it was able to expand beyond the story of the book and get into even more personal territory. While it was sadly cancelled, the second season is so satisfying that it is still worthwhile to finish it off.
1
‘Primal’ (2019–Present)
Primal is unlike any other animated show, and it could have only ever been made by Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of cartoon classics like Samurai Jack. Although Tartakovsky is responsible for making many excellent shows on Cartoon Network, being able to work within the expanded content guidelines of Adult Swim gave him the chance to make one of the most brutal, eye-popping, and ambitious animated series of all time.
The first season of Primal is a fascinating thought experiment that takes interesting narrative risks with its fantasy components and wordless style, but the series turns into an epic saga of friendship and futility as it expands. Although Season 2 seemingly closed off the show on a definitive note, Season 3 from early 2026 took a radical fantasy approach to rebooting the premise, making it even more captivating than it has ever been.
Primal
- Release Date
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October 8, 2019
- Network
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Adult Swim
- Showrunner
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Genndy Tartakovsky
- Directors
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Genndy Tartakovsky
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Laëtitia Eïdo
Mira (voice)
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Aaron LaPlante
Spear (voice)
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